Police station attacked to get rescued woman freed

NAUSHAHRO FEROZE: Three police constables were wounded when a group of villagers attacked the area police station to get a woman freed from their custody in Sohnari village near Thahrushah on Sunday.

The woman, Rizwana daughter of Abdul Jabar Solangi, had made a distress call at the ‘Madadgar 15’ police helpline saying her life was under threat from her parents who, according to her, had planned to kill her sometime in the night.

Responding to the call for help, DSP Mohammad Ayoob and Tharushah SHO Abdul Munam Larik were directed to rush to the specified house and carry out a raid to rescue the woman, SSP Naiz Ali Chandio told the media.

SHO Larik told Dawn that the house was accordingly raided and the woman was safely escorted to the police station, where she was kept into protective custody.

However, he added, the women’s family members and several other residents of the village stormed the police station to get her freed. Three constables, Shahid Kalhoro, Zulfiqar Ujjan and Abdul Rasheed, were wounded in the mob attack, he said.

SSP Chandio said reinforcement was arranged and a stronger contingent of police was sent to the village. He said the entire village was surrounded by the force, which took the woman under protective custody again and made some arrests.

The number and identities of the arrested persons were not disclosed.

According to the police, the woman had left the house to contract a freewill marriage against the consent of her parents and other family members a few weeks ago. The family had persuaded the woman to return to the house on the promise that she would not be punished, they said.

However, they added, the woman made a distress call when she sensed danger of being killed by her parents or some other family member for honour.